The stark contrast between the glam of overpriced stage shows on national/international award shows and the raw hard work of the passionate proverbial “underground” never ceases to inspire. But finding the right argument for and against the contrast can be a challenging endeavor.

On one hand we have the Tom Bradys of music. You know, the pretty music married to even prettier model spouses, but find a way to bitch about how unfair life is, yet seem to have everything fall their way. On the other hand we have the grinding, dirty, hardworking rock that is so filled with passion and emotion they let their sound do all the talking; for the sake of understanding we’ll refer to this as the “Marshawn Lynch” music.

And it is exactly that passion and emotion, the weaving of fuzzy, gutter rock with a seemingly uncaring, but obviously massive, lyrical power that drives the fourth release of Los Angeles’ Wake Up Lucid. The Beast-Mode of a sound approaches you without reservation or pretense, beats the hell out of you with an intense energy, and then leaves you feeling like you need a shower; but deep down inside you know you liked it.

The first four songs from Gone With The Night, “White Collar Love” through “I Want,” exudes an underground vibe filled with leather jackets, spiked hair, questionable piercings and total disregard for self-preservation in a way that invigorates even the most conservative. The dank, dark venue in your mind is quickly found by the trio that explains their latest work with “Give us something real, something we can feel. Or get fucked.”

And this explanation hones in on, and obliterates, any preconception with what follows the first four tracks. Coming in at over nine minutes, “Get Fucked” takes a size thirteen boot, that wears scuffs and time with pride, and curb-stomps the Brady sounds of the world. The sexy, jam-style, hard-pressing sound of this single song elevates Gone With The Night to an entirely different level. If someone told me they were just releasing this song, without the rest of the album, I can’t say I would put up any fight. The pure strength of it leaves some damn great songs around it in a shadow that simply cannot be matched.

In a time where the pretty are getting everything, sans intelligence, and the ones with fight are continuously being pushed into the shadows I must say I wasn’t expecting the shadows to come to life like Wake Up Lucid did here. The combination of power-rock, laid out with precision, topped with lyrics that instantly suck you in, drenched in a dimly lit hole you pass by daily but never stop to admire, makes me think if Nirvana were still around we’d end up somewhere in the neighborhood of Wake Up Lucid and this unforgettable sound. Draw the blinds, lock the door, get some mood lighting, don’t let the neighbors know what you’re doing and turn this record up.

Greg is a regular contributor and co-founder at Nanobot.